Back for the Books: staffer feels nostalgia going to pick up her textbooks

I tugged open East’s main office doors I once dreaded for the first time in six months. Sitting there to greet me was the one and only Dr. Sherman, holding a checklist full of students who had signed up to come get their textbooks for remote school.

The nostalgia hit me as I walked up the staircase I’m used to seeing jam-packed. Today it was merely me and my friend, masks on, going to grab our books. Even the fourth floor door with the handle you have to furiously jiggle to open made me reminisce about pre-coronavirus times.

I longed for the hallway to be filled with all my peers, but the thought of it was nothing more than a daydream. Instead I get to sit at my desk all day, staring at my plain wall in front of me. I never realized how different it would be only getting to see everyone’s faces through a screen.

I stopped and talked to Mr. Burrows, my math teacher from last year: that conversation lasted two minutes before we were interrupted and told to keep moving. It was nice though, finally being able to see some teachers in person again — or actually meeting them in person for the first time. Like Mrs. Horn, the Pre-Calc teacher, who implied that I better be a student who keeps my camera on.

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt to see my private school friends’ Snapchat stories of them together at school, making Tik Toks, seeing each other in the halls, and eating lunch together. I can’t help but feel like I’m missing out on the sweet high school years everyone tells you about — but we are all making the most of it.

Despite the depressing aspect of everything being online, there are ways we’ve found to make light of the situation. I get to sleep later, I have longer to eat lunch, I can have over small groups of friends to cautiously do school with, and you don’t ever have to worry about accidentally showing up to school in pj pants.

Not only did it shake me being in the hallways again, but seeing classmates I haven’t seen since March really got me. But I gave a pitiful wave, not knowing when I’ll ever be able to sit next to them in a real class again.

I exited the building, hauling my new honors pre-calculus and chemistry books. I made it to my car and pulled out of the parking lot. I knew I’d be back for tennis later that afternoon, but could only wonder when I would really be back again.